


A Last Stand

by Kaimidnite



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cat Burgulars, Genetic Engineering, Illegal Animal Experimentation, Multi, Original Character(s), Out of Character, Thievery, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-28
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-11 15:55:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4441979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaimidnite/pseuds/Kaimidnite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Conner Kent is an alien with a homicidal girlfriend. She is also an alien.</p><p>Jason Todd's got issues, as per fucking usual.</p><p>Dick Grayson and Wally West have a secret. </p><p>Roy Harper (the original) has a child.</p><p>And Bart? He's just trying not to accidentally induce the apocalypse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mainly Backstory

**Author's Note:**

> Please give my baby a chance!! I've been writing this since I was thirteen, I'm seventeen now.  
> Kudos make me smile, comments give me life, and respectful suggestions bring me inspiration!

It’s been a really shitty day for Conner, but he got to go to a super duper secret Broody Bunch meeting so that kind of made up for it. 

But let’s start at the beginning.

A second Krolatuean soldier’s body dropped to the grass with a heavy thud. It’s hideously misshapen head lolled to the side and silvery drool oozed out the corner of its mouth. Conner did not see how these creatures could be under the same classification as he and his beautiful M’gann.

Aliens.

It was easier to see, he supposed, at first glance that M’gann did not belong on Earth. Her emerald green skin was an immediate clue, but if you looked closely her eyes, almond shaped and beautiful to him, were far to red tinted to be human. He, however, was cloned from Superman, last son of Krypton.  
Kryptonian’s were far more similar to the human race than Martians were. Like his father Conner had thick raven hair but eyes that were the blue of a liquefied glacier. His sister, also a clone, albeit a female one, had the same hair as him although her eyes were more of a stormy blue, like Superman’s.  
It was times like these when he could understand why some humans were not comfortable with the idea that those who protected them were not one of their own. Because in times like these, his dearest M’gann looked like a monster. 

The Justice league had rescued Conner and his sister from CADMUS, the twisted company that was responsible for their creation. The Justice league had treated them as real people with real feelings. They gave them names beyond Superboy and Supergirl, as their creators had named them. They’d taught them right from wrong, and told them they could decide which path they could go down. Conner and his sister chose to be people who did the right thing, and what M’gann was doing to these poor soldiers was wrong.

M’gann’s eyes returned to their normal color that they were when she was not using her psychic powers. Conner knew she did not intentionally seek out these victims, but whenever information was needed she ripped through their minds and left them catatonic.  
He also knew his was against all spoken and unspoken Martian laws. J’onn, better known as Martian Manhunter, was M’gann’s uncle and had brought her to Earth. Conner instuitively knew that if J’onn ever found out about what M’gann did to these soldiers it would result to M’gann being forced to leave Earth and face a trial with The council of Elders back on Mars.  
He could not do that to the girl he loved.

M’gann’s life on Mars had not been a happy one, this much he knew from what little she had told him. To send her back to the hell she’d been forced to grow up in would not be right, but to allow her to continue doing this extensive damage to the minds of others would be wrong.  
So much confusion, so little time.  
Grass softly crunched under his feet as he approached her.

“M’gann, you can’t keep doing this.” 

“They’re all still breathing, Conner. It’s not technically considered lethal force.” She said quietly. They both cringed at the mentioning of intentionally taking a life. Conner steeled himself to say what he felt he needed to.

“You know what would happen if the others ever found out.” M’gann recoiled,

“Are you saying that you would tell them?” He sighed.

"No, M’gann, but, you have to stop. I promise I won’t tell anyone if you never do it again.” The look M’gann gave him nearly broke his indestructible kryptonian heart. It was full of sadness and regret and something else he didn’t have a name for.

“Okay Conner. I’ll stop, and everything will be like it used to be.” She smiled at him.

The real trouble had not begun until the ride in the bio-ship home. 

They sat apart from each other, a first occurrence and one that did not bode well for the continuation of their relationship, Conner thought.  
The mission had been simple. Batman had recevied reliable ‘intel’ that there were two rogue Krolatueans fleeing from the enemy base that had quietly, and still unknown to all civilians in the area been built outside the city of Los Angeles.

They were to intercept the soldiers and attain more information about the plans of the invading Kroloteaun race. Then they were to bring them back for further questioning by the League. Conner still didn’t know how he was going to lie to the Batman, Prince of Gotham, The Dark Knight, and general all around Badass.

If there was one human who scared the living daylights out of Conner, it was Batman. 

There was, however easy the mission looked on paper, a catch. Psimon was a powerful telepath capable of broadcasting his thoughts to a radius up to ten miles. It was known that Psimon worked as a sort of ‘hired gun’ for the Kroloteauns. They knew this, but they had no idea where he was or even where he could be. Batman had given both of them instructions that if they saw any sign of Psimon, they were to alert each other by inter-com only, as all psychics can pick up a ‘telepathic trace’ as M’gann explained it to him, and get the hell out of range. 

So when Conner felt a threatening presence sweeping from the back to the front of his mind, he screamed for M’gann to run. But as the dark presence in his mind delved even deeper, he felt a familiar tingling and came to a horrible realization.

This was not Psimon. It was M’gann.

]tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like I've said, this story is four years in the making. The plot starts picking up in this chapter.

It seemed that she realized he knew what was going on because he felt the being in his mind push harder against his defenses. It hurt more than anything he’d ever experienced. Finally she broke through his walls and grasped his memories, and from the touch of her mind he realized what she was planning to do. 

M’gann did not want to kill him. M’gann wanted to change his memories of the fight, and change everything he remembered about her wrecking the minds of others. 

To make everything like it used to be. 

With one final mental push, he threw her roughly in back into her own head.

They sat there, staring at each other, M’gann at Conner with fear shining in her eyes as well as a few tears.

Conner sighed as the flashback ended. He’d had a violent outburst after he’d recovered from the horrible pain M’gann’s psychic attack had caused him. Before he’d stormed out of the ship, he’d cast one last accusing glance at his soon-to-be-ex girlfriend, and told her it was over. He’d nodded to the others awaiting their return and kicked off the ground to take flight. M’gann was sobbing so loudly while their extremely confused team mates tried to comfort her that he could still hear her two miles out from The Cave. 

This outburst had probably come as a shock for everyone else. After the brief first month or so of awkward angst and sexual tension, and then that whole deal where it turned out she had creepily modeled their relationship after some cheesy sitcom, being with M’gann had been predominantly easy and without conflict. 

He didn’t really know where he was going, but a glance down told him that he appeared to be flying over the Misissippi River. 

He kind of wished, now that he thought about it, that he’d brought Wolf, the 900 pound white wolf that had been experimented on and now was roughly five times larger than the largest ever recorded of his kind, and possessed abnormal strength even for an animal of that size and the capability of flight. 

He’d rescued Wolf from the same people who’d originally created Conner himself and trained the canine to be a crime-fighter like him. Wolf usually followed Conner wherever he went, so he assumed that the meta-canine was off doing League business with some other hero. 

Maybe not, he thought, as he heard the familiar breathing patterns of another airborne mammal behind him.

“Hey there Big Brother.”

Kimberly, he thought. Conner swiveled around so he could talk to his fellow clone.

Instead of just the Last Daughter of Krypton, he also spotted her infamous boyfriend Jason todd, better known as Red Hood. 

Jason was an ex-Robin who had been killed by the Joker and brought back to life by the League of Asassins, a rival group to The League of Shadows, who wanted Jason as their newest member.  
Unsurprisingly, Jason had not liked the idea of this and went on a rampage, completely wiping the League of Assasins from the face of Earth. This made The League of Shadows desire him as an asset as well. 

But when Jason had turned them down, they just backed off and kind of let him do his own thing, which was probably a smart thing to do because by this point Jason was just really freaking pissed off with the world. He returned to Gotham, killed the Joker in a very bloody and public manner and accused his adopted father of both replacing him as Robin and not avenging his ‘death’. When no apology was given, (in light of the fact that he was now in all senses of the word a murderer) Jason got even more pissed off, created a new persona for himself as the Red Hood, and went on a halfway justified murdering spree. 

At first it appeared he was killing convicted criminals at random. But as things progressed, a pattern was discovered. He only killed those who had been convicted of rape or child abuse/murder, and all the rest of his casualties were primarily leaders of gangs. In a little over two months back in Gotham after killing the Joker Jason had succeeded in a hostile take over of three fourth’s of Gotham’s gangs/ organized crime industry. The killing thereafter, for the most part stopped, leaving the Bat-Clan and friends on semi-agreeable but incredibly tense terms with him, and completely at a loss on how to help their estranged brother. 

Enter Kimberly Kent, feisty blue-eyed brunette (like Gotham didn’t already have enough of those running around.) with a passion for writing and a bad habit of sticking her nose into places it didn’t belong.

She was, like Conner, cloned from the Superman and member of the new highly classified team of sidekicks, “Young Justice.” They first met on of the patrols through Gotham her best friend and, coincidentally, Jason's -Golden-boy-of-the-family older brother Nightwing occasionally took her along on.

To this day Nightwing swears he was not intending, nor attempting to set Jason and Kimberly up.

He’s also a horrifically bad liar.

The oh so fearsome Red Hood’s new beau did not take well to his good-intending-murderous-intentions and told him that he either hung up the guns, or they were through.  
Many female vigilante’s before her had attempted the same thing and all were left sobbing on the curb. But this time when Kimberly threatened to leave, Jason was the one on his knees begging for forgiveness. With his wayward son finally straightened out, Bruce accepted Jason back into the Wayne household and legacy with open arms. Proving, once again, what can happen when a determined and powerful woman becomes infatuated with a lost cause of a man.

 

And so goes the saga of Jason todd.

 

tbc...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say what??! Yeah, I'm taking a lot of liberty with the canon divergence tag if you haven't noticed...
> 
> Let me know what you think so far!
> 
>  
> 
> XOXOXOXOXO


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally get some plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, let me know what you think! Updates are going to be really quick at first because I already have this stuff written.

Now that everything was good and well in The Bat-clan, with Supergirl as a recent addition, Kimberly remained in Gotham to become a reporter for “The Gotham Star”, the largest selling paper in Gotham. Supergirl still answered the call of duty and regularly visited her brother even when there were no missions to take part in. 

He didn’t see as much of his beloved little sister as much as he did when they were growing up though, and he slightly resented Jason for it but otherwise had no problem with him.

“Hey there little Sis! Hello, Jason.” Conner always greeted Jason with a bit of a cool tone-just to remind him that their relationship as boyfriend of the sister and big brother of the girlfriend hung in an ever precarious balance, and so much as one wrong move could tip it into chaos and fist-fights.

“Hey.” Jason acknowledged him with a respectful nod of his head. He was suspended in the air by a strange device he assumed was Batman’s doing. It was similar to the Bat-bike, as the motorcycle was affectionately named, but with small turbines in the center of the wheels that looked to be rotatable.

“I heard what happened earlier, Kon.” Kon was short for Conner’s Kryptonian name, Kon-el. It meant Kon from the house of El. Kimberly’s name was Kor-el, Kor, or Kory for short (It depended whether you were talking to Jason or Conner.). 

“Of course you did. I assume that the news has traveled to the Fortress of Solitude by now as well?” He said with a sardonic smile as he referred to their “Father’s” one and only safe house.

“Nope.” Kimberly grinned and tapped her temple. 

Conner and his sister shared a faint telepathic link that weakened as distance between them grew. She flipped over onto her back and floated above Jason, who was currently battling against the temptation to check out her… posterior. 

Unbeknownst to Kimberly, the two males had come to an agreement that Jason was not to grope, gawk at, or fondle his sister whenever Conner was in the near vicinity. Cuddling and kissing would be occasionally tolerated. 

In return Conner agreed not to disembowel Jason, or break his legs off and force him to eat them. 

“Really? Impressive. We were in L.A…..’ Kimberly’s face now wore a sheepish grin, a rare occurrence for the impulsive hero. 

“You didn’t.”

“We kind of stalked you.” She admitted. He glared at Jason, who’d thought Conner wasn’t looking and given into temptation. 

He got the hint and suddenly took a great interest in the river churning beneath them, Kimberly mistook Conner’s glare as him blaming her boyfriend and immiedately leaped to his defense.

“Well don’t start blaming Jaybird!” Conner raised an eyebrow and mouthed , “Jaybird?” to Jason who flushed and took an even greater interest in the river. “It’s not his fault! I wanted to see how you were doing and you weren’t at the cave and so I went to the Mountain but you weren’t there so I asked Jaime the beetle thing and he asked the angry archer boy and he said you were on a mission with Miss-“ The rest of her speech was slurred, halting, and incomprehensible. As her speech deteriorated, Kory’s sustained hovering was affected as well. She shakily dropped and rose a few feet in elevation.

Jason and Conner exchanged knowing and sad looks for a few more seconds before Jason gently spoke up,

“Kory?”

“Yes Jaybbbiredw- jay,” Kory usually had trouble coming back to herself after episodes like this. Jason spoke quietly to her until after a minute or so she regained control of her cognitive abilities. Her flight became stable again.

“Jason?” She said. Jason smiled carefully and dropped his voice,

“Remember what we came for?” He asked. It took a lot of patience to handle his sister at times. It made him sad in different ways to witness the scene before him.   
Kimberly hadn’t been like this before the accident. 

It happened on a mission shortly after Jason made up with his family, and to honor the occasion Kimberly had received permission from Batman to bring him along. The mission was simple; fly in the bio-ship ( Miss Martian’s spacecraft.) to Bialya where there was a revolution against a corrupt government taking place, and deliver a care package containing food, water, and other essential things to a rebel base in the middle of one of the cities currently controlled by the rebel’s enemies. 

Normally, The Justice League did not involve itself with politics, and in this case if they did it could result in an international crisis. The team was to get in and out with as little witnesses as possible. Simple, quick, with high stakes but low chances of capture.

So it seemed, anyway.

Jason accidentally got himself caught on security camera, and while he, Kimberly’s partner for the mission, was distracted with the task of hacking into the system and getting rid of the footage, twelve men armed with Kryptonite stun-guns incapitated Supergirl and overpowered Jason and for reasons that were still unknown, left him but kidnapped Supergirl.

It had taken them six harrowing days to track down and rescue her, and Conner was convinced that no one had gotten a second of sleep throughout the entire time. Kor-el was popular among the heroes in the League, and all were horrified to find their poor little Supergirl strapped to a table that, judging by the way both Superman and Superboy were wracked with pain upon stepping into the room, was laced with Kryptonite. She was hooked up to several machines that not even America’s top scientist, who conveniently was the Flash and part of the extraction, could deduce the purpose or function of. 

Even if he lived for a thousand years,Superboy would never forget the look on Jason’s face when they found her. 

He’d ran to the table and shot her restraints with thee hand gun he’d brought out for the occasion. Jason took one look her face and broke down crying. He cradled her to his chest like a newborn and begged her to open her eyes, but his pleas fell upon dead ears.

Literally. 

The League almost lost one of their own that day. 

Had they found her just a scant two minutes later, there would have been absolutely no chance of resuscitation. 

She’d never been the same lovable bundle of super strength that she had been. Try as they might, they hadn’t been able to track down the men that had taken her or figure out how they’d known the team would be at that specific location. It was also later discovered that whatever those machines did, the trauma they’d caused had left her with the tendency to have epileptic fits whenever she tried to use her x-ray or heat vision. 

Flash’s theory was that both the stress of the situation and machines and the damage of actually dying for an estimated seven minutes had permanently crippled the section of her brain that was used when she accessed her heat vision/x-ray powers. She also had a tendency to get moody, angry, and depressed more often. But she was alive, that was all that mattered. Kimberly’s voice snapped him back to reality.

“Oh, right.” She was embarrassed. Although she couldn’t remember her fits, she always knew they’d taken place and usually felt sheepish afterwards. Kimberly hated being a burden. Jason shared a glance with him. The sad, angry, and regretful look in his striking green eyes told him that the same scene had replayed in his mind as well.

“How are things with you and M’gann?” Kimberly worded her sentence carefully, as if she was trying not to reveal that she knew something he didn’t.

“You already know.” Kimberly exchanged a look with Jason. 

Typically Jason didn’t speak up much when he was around Conner, but when he did it was worth listening, if you could tolerate a few cuss words thrown in. Jason was just that kind of guy.

“Yeah, we do know, and you’re very lucky that no one else knows the extent of what happened because both you and M’gann could be in deep shit right now. Nightwing, goody-two –shoes he may be, decided to save your ass by making up a story about how he’d asked you to swing by Gotham to get something for him.” 

Yeah, he wasn’t supposed to leave the base without getting permission and telling someone where he was going. Oopsie. 

“So I’m guessing I would do well to go to Gotham and get something Nightwing would need.” Kimberly rolled her eyes.

“That you would, incompetent older brother.”

With that being said, Jason drew a pair of keys out of his jeans pocket and clicked a red button. The flying motorcycle thingy’s headlights blinked and it did an about face, which was the direction of Gotham, he realized. Just before the bike took off at a pace that was fast but still horribly slow compared to the speeds he and his sister were capable of, Jason stood on the handle bars, and jumped. 

Conner was a bit taken aback. 

Either he was incredibly stupid, or Jason had a lot of faith in Kor-el to be able to do something like that without even batting an eyelash.   
It took Kimberly less than a second to catch him in the method of carrying that they usually used whenever Jason flew with them.

“Is the extra weight gonna slow ya down Kor?” Conner asked jokingly.

“PLEASE. Don’t even pretend you’re in my league when it comes to speed Kon. I make you look like a turtle.” It was true. Kimberly got more speed, but he got more strength. Jason’s voice came from over her shoulder,

" I had a pet turtle named Gooey once. Those things can actually be pretty damn fast.” The two super beings laughed,

“Gooey? What kind of a name is Gooey for a turtle? Shelly is understandable. Stereotypical maybe, but understandable.” Conner enjoyed teasing Jason.

“I was five with a drug addict mom and poor judgement skills! God, a man can’t catch a break in this family.” Laughter rang through the air as the clone siblings prepared to break the sound barrier, with Jason burying his face in the crook of his girlfriend’s shoulder to protect his face. 

tbc...


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is pretty long

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic hasn't gotten a lot of attention yet, but it's only the third day so that's cool.If you like this story please don't hesitate to give kudos or book mark! Tell me what you think of this chapter. :3

Less than fifteen minutes later, they were shrieking to a halt atop the apartment building that Jason and Kimberly lived in. 

They climbed in through the window because Jason was too lazy to get his keys out and unlock the door. Conner braced himself for a canine onslaught, but was surprised to find an absence of friendly barks and rejoicing howls. 

“Where’s Krypto and Chessy?” 

The two dogs were accquired a few months after Kimberly’s accident by Jason, because apparently people with dogs were less likely to fall into depression. 

Krypto was a large genetic mutant who would never show visible signs of aging past his prime, and live as long as a human. 

He was the result of a company whose prime product was de-aging wrinkle cream that they illegally tested on animals. He was pure white except for his black muzzle and a black hind foot. They called him Krypto because as an adorable un-proportional puppy, he’d wormed his way into every member of the Justice League’s hardened hearts in less than a month. Thus, Kryptonite. 

Chessy was short for Cheshire. Chessy was, well, they actually didn’t really know what she was. Genetic DNA testing didn’t work with her, but everyone figured she was probably a tiger-wolf-whatever the hell else-dog hybrid. Her fur was a deep, rich chocolate brown with a single jet-black stripe down her spine that went down her hind legs and across her shoulders. Chessy’s eyes were too slanted to be normal and sometimes they looked green, but other than that she was no larger than the average Labrador. She had an unnerving way of grinning like the Cheshire cat whenever she got caught doing something wrong. 

Jason discovered her lurking behind the dumpster of a laboratory in Taiwan while he was on a business trip. In the words of Hawkman, a six foot ten muscled barbarian with golden hair as long as his wife’s and a wingspan of fourteen feet, "That thing is just plain creepy.” She may not have been as popular as Krypto, but Chessy was unique, intelligent, and faithful to the end.

Between the vigilante-clone girlfriend, the super mutt, and the unholy demonic hybrid cat-dog thingy, Conner had to admit, Jason sure knew how to pick ‘em.

“They’re on a playdate with Wolf.” Kory answered him, flicking on the hallway lights.

Oh. So that’s where Wolf went. As they were walking through the dimly light hallway on the way to the living room, a shard of light reflected light drew his eye. 

It was a picture of the original Young Justice team. Before the accident, Before Jason, and Before Dick Grayson became Nightwing and handed the ‘Robin’ title to his younger brother, Jason. 

Before M’gann… He couldn’t even finish the thought. 

But it was back when M’gann was his friendly, sweet, loving, and innocent girlfriend. She’d practically worshipped the ground he walked on. Vice, versa, of course.

Tears swam in his eyes as he realized the full gravity of everything that happened that day. Because he was a clone, he’d had to learn how to react to situations at the stage where most kids were learning how to text under their classroom chair with one hand. His emotional reactions were often delayed, and the joy of a surprise visit from his sister and a friendly competitive race across the country had temporarily distracted him from his violent break up with his long standing girlfriend, but now everything came rushing back. Conner sniffed quite an unmanly sniff and then suddenly felt like he’d been hit by a pick-up truck that wouldn’t let go. 

At first he thought for one panic-stricken second that he was being attacked, but then he realized that his little sister was giving him a hug. He met Jason’s eyes over her kevlar-clad shoulder.

“Kory, let’s move this into the living room. We need to talk to him.”

Conner told them everything. Kimberly didn’t know about how his ex liquefied alien brains, so that came as a shock to everyone. Conner had purposely hidden it from Kimberly so she didn’t have to make the same decision he had and live with the guilt of it. She looked hurt, at first, that he hadn’t told her but got over it quickly enough when he explained the reasoning behind it. 

When he finished both Jason and Kimberly gave a long, synchronized, sigh. Somewhere along his story they’d shifted positions without his noticing so that Jason’s arm was around her shoulders and her left leg rested on top of his right. He was tempted to enforce the no-cuddling-within-sight-of-older-brother rule, but decided not to ruin the moment. Kimberly’s voice caught him off guard,

“Kon, I honestly don’t think that the way you reacted was wrong, but you need to think about whether or not the way you’re acting is right.“ She held up her hands when he started to protest.

”Hear me out on this one. Think about it, if you keep her in the dark part of your heart and hold her in a light of bitterness forever, what happens the next time you have to choose between M’gann’s life and catching the bad guy? Trust me, when you’re in the heat of the moment with adrenaline pumping through your veins faster than Jason runs for the kitchen after Alfred makes cookies, it would be all too easy to make that jump. Don’t you think I know this Conner?’ 

“No. I don’t think you do.” He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

She shrugged off Jason’s arm and leaned in close to Conner’s face. Her vibrant blue eyes blazed with a fury he rarely saw.

”Have you forgotten about Roy, Kon? Did you forget what he did to me? Did you forget that he reached out to me when I was so new to this world and confused? Did you forget how he went and had a fling with some second rate asian assassin, accidently got her pregnant and married her without even telling me he was leaving until he was gone? He traveled the world with her and raised the child that should have been mine while chasing some idiotic of tracking down his father. And when my accident left me crippled and temporarily blind, did he come back, if only to see if I was even alive?”

She drew back and hid her head in her hands, and her voice lost the vicious edge it had held. 

“No. I know very well what it means to be betrayed by the one you held dearest to your heart, and exactly what it feels like when they shatter it into a million tiny pieces.“ Conner felt instantly guilty.

It had been three and a half years since that fiasco, and honestly, he kind of had forgotten. A little over a year ago they’d discovered Roy living with Cheshire, the woman she’d spoken of in Indonesia. Roy and Kimberly had talked for a long time, and though she gave off the impression that everything was fine and she was so over him, Conner had always wondered if that was entirely true.

He guessed now he had his answer. 

Kory didn’t complain when Jason slowly reached out to her, and pulled her gently into his arms and against his chest where the superhero could be comforted by the steady beat of his heart. Jason rested his chin on her head and gave him a disapproving look.

The three sat there for a while. The silence bore down on them all as they remembered, relived, and regretted together in their own respective ways. 

Conner wondered if Jason was thinking about how Batman had gotten there too late to save him, or if he was thinking about how Jason was almost too late to save Kory. 

 

tbc.....


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think at the bottom!!! :):)

Conner was glad they were together. It was good for Jason to finally have some sort of stability in his life, and, he supposed, it was good that Kimberly had someone who might not be as strong as her, but could be the one to hold her together when she felt like falling apart.  
Jason cleared his throat and broke the silence.

“Kory and I were going to go to the Manor, but-“ Conner took the hint quickly,

“Oh, it’s okay. I’m fine, I’ll just fly back to Base.” Kimberly’s head popped up as her motherly instincts came to life.

“No you will not! We just won’t go.” Jason bit his lip. Though he was hardly a pushover, Jason was always particularly delicate with her after a fit like the one she'd suffered earlier in the day.

“Sweetheart, Bruce sent us an email message, Justice League Network memo, Voicemail, and a coded Facebook announcement that our presence was required at a family meeting.” This, apparently, did not deter Kimberly.

“Then Conner will come with us!” She tossed her pony tail defiantly. 

And instantly, the matter was settled, whether the boys liked it or not.  
.......

Wayne manor was quite an impressive home. Its grounds spanned over 25 acres, with three hidden pools tucked into the corners. The house itself was intimidatingly large, full of prestige and antiques. Bruce Wayne, the eccentric billionaire, had lived in this house for all of his life and so had the seven generations of Wayne’s before him. 

They rode past the gates in Jason’s red Spyder, another one of the expensive toys that came from being in the Bat-clan.

Gravel crunched under their feet as they walked up to the huge Victorian style doors. Jason pressed a button on the brick wall to the left of the doors, and waited for a moment. A dignified man who looked to be in his late fifties with gray hair and a sculpted mustache answered the door. He was wearing a three piece suit and gave Conner a glance. 

“Good evening Master Jason. I am very glad to see you again, after such a long time. Ms. Kimberly, you have never looked lovelier. Master Bruce and the others have gathered in the dining parlor and request your presence immediately.” 

His expression never changed throughout his greeting and did not change as they thanked him and entered the manor. 

Conner had never been to a Bat-family meeting, and so he didn’t really know what to expect. One thing he did know, however was that when Family meetings are called, something really really really bad must have happened. 

The scene that greeted them when they passed through the entry way that, according to Jason, led to the dining parlor Alfred, who was the man at the door, had spoken of, was nothing like he had thought it would be. 

Ace, the regal black Great Dane was ignoring Krypto’s attempts to get the dignified protector of the house to play with him. Wolf was playfully biting at Chessy, who was curled up against Ace’s side and glared at the great white beast with annoyance glimmering in her currently yellow eyes.  
Isis, Catwoman’s infamous silky black cat who had a habit of biting people who her mistress didn’t like, (Jason got bitten a lot.) was sitting on Bruce’s lap. The Patriarch of the family looked more melancholy than usual. Bruce raised an eyebrow at Conner's presence, but after Kimberly had saved his son from insanity, Bruce was basically indebted to her for all of eternity. 

Almost everyone in the room was arguing, it looked as if there was some sort of girl-fight either going on or about to break out in one of the corners, and strangest of all, nobody was wearing a mask.

As soon they noticed Jason everyone stopped whatever they’d been doing and stared.

“What? Did I accidentally run over one of Selina’s hellions again?” 

Selina Kyle and her gray kevlar suited companion (who Conner had never met before.) glared at Jason with expressions that promised swift and terrible retribution. 

“Why didn’t you tell us Jason?” Timothy drake’s clear voice cut through the menacing silence that was beginning to mount. His piercing blue eyes were fixed on his predecessor in the way an eagle looks at a fish swimming in the waters below. 

“Tell you what?” Jason’s scarred left eyebrow raised in apparent confusion. Conner remembered what his mentors had taught him, and searched for the visible signs of a liar. When he found none, he searched with his superb sense of smell for the slightest trace of fear that all liars, even the most experienced ones carried.

You could study and train all your life, and get the body language perfect to the point where you could trick a hardened FBI agent, but you could never fool a Kryptonian. 

He still couldn’t find any traces that indicated Jason wasn’t telling the truth and decided to believe him. 

Everything Jason, Kory, and Conner had ever done or trained for could not have prepared them for what happened next.  
.....

Jason had done a lot a bad things, he’d be the first to admit that. 

He’d also be the first to admit that this was a not the first time a family meeting had been called because of something he may or may not have done. He could understand why they were all suspicious.  
  
"I believe that the Replacement is speaking of me, Father.”

The voice came from no-one that Jason knew of. He appeared to be in his early teens, thirteen, maybe fourteen, possibly a very short fifteen.(Personally, Jason hadn’t hit his growth spurt until the grand age of sixteen and a half. It wasn’t something he was particularly proud of.) 

The boy had steely gray eyes that looked like they might have hints of blue or green in them when he was in a more pleasant mood. His dark hair tapered to the middle of the back of his neck, but was cropped short as it did so. Most of his bangs were slicked back, but a few had escaped, giving him a slightly touseled but still polished appearance. 

His sharp cheekbones made him seem almost untrustworthy- intimidating. Jason could see that his casual clothing hid rippling muscles and broad shoulders. Whoever this kid was, he was already well-built and would definitely grow up to be a very strong man. 

His eyes gave off the feeling of challenge, as if he desperately needed to prove himself and dared Jason to just set him off and see what would happen. 

 

“My name is Damian, and I am the perfect genetic copy of you, Jason Todd.” 

 

tbc...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bitch say whaattt?? As you can see I'm taking a lot of artistic liberty here. Just go with it. Damian has such an interesting dynamic I couldn't bare to leave him out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> f any of you would like to beta, please comment or contact me on tumblr, my url is kaitlolswimmer. I'd really appreciate the help!! Thank you lovelies~

The next few months were, if nothing else, interesting. 

There was at first the matter of who Damian would stay with. 

Jason and Kimberly had no problem taking him in, but the apartment was really only meant for two and neither of them would be home that often. So Damian elected to stay with his adoptive grandfather at Wayne manor. Jason was very accepting of his younger self, after it was cleared up that he knew absolutely nothing about whatever association or society had created Damian. 

Damian wasn’t much help either.

They’d had him undergo brain scans, extensive lie-detector tests, and every other psychological method known to see if he knew anything about his creation, other than that he was the clone of Jason todd. He didn’t. It was almost as if someone had gone into his mind and deleted everything about where he was from. They decided to let it go, as Damian hadn’t made any hell bent attempts to kill them yet.

Well, there was that time that he and Timothy had gotten into an argument about who got rights to drive Jason’s old vintage motorcycle, but that was different. 

Both of their arguments had been solid, with Damian claiming it as his birthright, and Timothy asserting ownership because he had first discovered the bike hiding in the recesses of the Cave’s garage. It had ended in a testing of two worthy adversaries in a surprisingly viscous would-be battle to the death that resulted in two of Tim’s ribs being cracked, and Damian coming out on top with only a dislocated collarbone and a couple of nasty bruises. 

Jason had heartily applauded his… son's excellent performance, but after the ‘is that seriously all you’re going to say to him I can’t believe you’re letting him get off so easy’ admonishments of his girlfriend Kimberly he discouraged the usage of violence instead of problem solving. 

Tim was back on the streets patrolling Gotham’s criminal underworld in less than a month. 

Eventually it was decided that Damian should join Young justice, as a way of both utilizing his incredible combat skills and integrating him with kids his age, because in addition to scathing sarcasm and deep rooted memory issues, Damian had absolutely no people skills. 

After much deliberating and many rejected ideas, Damian decided he wanted “Falcon” to be his vigilante name. His costume was very much similar to Robin’s, minus the trademark “R” on his chest and cape. The lines of the costume were also significantly harsher than Robin’s, and instead of a mask Damian had designed a semi-cowl that almost looked like Batman’s, but without the pointed ears protruding from either edge of the mask.

After a few minutes of deep suspicion the team ultimately decided as one that they could tolerate Damian’s presence.

Everything was once again settled, with the exception of Superboy and Miss Martian’s violent break up,(an issue that will be addressed at a later time.) and Jason and Kory made the decision to move back into the Manor, to be closer to both the family and Damian. Things were returning to as normal as a life that you could live as a superhero. Jason and his girlfriend were doing their best to be sufficient role-model’s for their family’s newest edition. 

Damian stopped picking fights with Tim, and even apologized with a fair amount of sincerity for cracking his ribs and also stopped trying buy knives, grenades, guns, and other weapons illegally on Gotham’s disturbingly extensive black market for his collection. Instead he had allegedly taken to tennis as a hobby. 

Allegedly.

The family of three went on weekend camping trips together, saw movies, and were considering buying Damian a pet, as a reward for two months of relatively good behavior. Of course this was exactly the time when something that had been worried about by all to finally raise its ominous and fearsome head.

Puberty.  
.....

This day has been so far completely uneventful. 

I took out the trash as Father bade me, even though we have Pennyworth for those kind of menial tasks, Fed the dogs, took a few utterly boring and completely pointless daily classes on Mathematics online, because Father told me I have to learn it like all the other children. I am trained in the deadly arts, am capable of ( and have, on occasions) hacking into the Pentagon’s top secret files, I know seven ways to kill a man with my bare hands and could do so without getting caught, and I belong to an elite team of superheroes dedicated to protecting mankind.

Hardly a child to be coddled. 

I am not like other children, so why should I have to be treated as they are? I made that argument to Father but he just sighed and said that we had to keep up appearances. Figures. Sometimes I hate being a Wayne. There are always sophisticated parties to go to, boring old dukes and musty duchesses to be polite to, nasty interviews and nosy reporters to deal with. At least when I am in costume as Falcon and at Young Justice’s base I don’t have to pretend to be polite. The team doesn’t care if I act like a self-righteous little brat so long as I do my part and the mission is successful. 

Base. That’s where I am riding the sleek motorcycle that I won from Tim in the infamous Battle for the Bike. I modified the engine and a little bit of the styling to make it fit in with all the glossy, expensive vehicles in Bruce’s garage. It looks fantastic, and Father even helped me with some of the trickier wiring in the engine. I arrived through the back entrance and punch in my code so the computer systems will recognize me. Everything is in its usual place, with the cave formations above still looming and magnificent, the waterfall still churning and the combat arena hasn’t miraculously shifted locations since my last visit.

In fact, the only thing out of the ordinary is the fact that there is an intruder standing in the kitchen and none of the alarms are going off.

My training kicks in before I’ve even finished the thought. 

I press myself tightly against the wall and peer back around the stone corner. The Intruder is wearing the skin-tight Kevlar/spandex brightly colored body suit, and he looks young- about my age, and strangely, he doesn’t appear as if he is here to murder us all in our sleep or steal our advanced technology as I assume an Intruder would at least make an attempt to do so. For a brief second I can see my Father’s significant other’s kind face in front of me, telling me to consider all the possible situations and consequences. 

But by the next second all thought is gone. 

I have made my decision, and now I will deal with the consequences. I leaped through the air, and thinking faster than the speed of my motion, I planned my attack.  
An elbow jab to pressure point just above the collar bone while my other hand held his cranium in place. If that didn’t work, I would hook my knees around his upper thighs and use my upper body strength to flip him onto the ground. 

But just centimeters before my perfect plan could be utilized, a powerful force came out of nowhere and knocked me several feet to the right, slamming me straight into the kitchen counter.

My attacker obviously knew something about fighting, as they caged their legs around my waist and shoved their forearm horizontally across my throat and shoved their upturned palm straight into my diaphragm. 

Admittedly, that really fucking hurt.

My air supply was cut off, enough to be uncomfortable but not lethal and I was essentially, pinned. Then something important yet unimportant registered in my battle-fused mind. This person was a girl. A beautiful, beautiful, girl.

Her eyes looked like melted amber and topaz with gold swirling in their depths. A few strands of her wavy chocolate brown hair had escaped from its ponytail, framing her narrow chin. She had high cheekbones so sharp they looked like they could cut ice, windswept features and a light dusting of freckles across her nose. She wasn’t quite what you’d call pale, but she definitely wasn’t tan either.

She was absolutely the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen in my whole life.

“DAMIAN!” Nightwing stood at the kitchen’s door. This situation was extremely embarrassing, considering the fact that I often claimed I was better than even my father at hand to hand combat. But Nightwing would surely still help me.

“I cannot believe that you attacked your own teammate!”

“Excuse me?” The girl turned her head and pressed down tighter on my throat. “This ingrate was about to pressure point my brother into oblivion, so naturally I defended him.” 

She turned those amber eyes on me again. 

I felt a little thrill go through me at their warm depths seeping fire through my soul. Nightwing cleared his throat meaningfully.

“Actually, I was talking to the ingrate. Your technique was perfect. I applaud your performance, but Damian however, …” His voice trailed off somewhere. I didn’t really care where. The only important thing was those eyes. Those swirling, melted, intoxicating, exhilaratingly untouchable eyes. An unfamiliar voice came from the corner,

“Hey sis, wanna turn it down a bit? He’s drooling. You should also probably get off his throat. You know, oxygen deprivation and all that.” Her magnificent eyes narrowed a bit, and then the painful pressure was gone and I could breathe. 

“Whatever. Maybe this will teach him not to mess with me. Or you.” She gave a nod to my Uncle Grayson and walked out of the kitchen without as much as backward glance in my direction.  
Another unmistakably male voice I didn’t know called from the living room,

“Totally saw the whole thing, Beautiful! You’ve got some moves. And for the record, if you ever need someone to mess with you-“ He suddenly gave a squeak of pain and then fell quiet.  
I looked back to Nightwing, still standing there and regarding me with a look of disapproval.

“MORE strangers in the Base? What in God’s holy name is going on?” I demanded.

He gave me a depressed look, and sighed as if he was suddenly very tired. He ruffled a hand through his silky black hair, which I noticed was uncharacteristically disheveled, and sat down on the counter.

“It’s a very long and confusing story.” He started, somewhat uncertainly. I pulled out my favorite bat-arang to tinker with and took a seat next to him. 

“And I’ve got some long and confusing hardwiring modifications to make. Start talking, Uncle.”  
....

It turned out that the perfect girl with the beautiful eyes was from the future, along with her twin brother, Bart. Her name was Rhea Mckenzie Allen. 

They’d come back to the past originally as tourists, but their time machine had broken so now they were stuck here. Forever. ( or at least until the parts needed to fix the thing were invented, supposedly in forty years or so, but you get the point. A long time.) According to Uncle he thought they were dealing with that slight complication suspiciously well and he planned to investigate it thoroughly when he got the chance.

The voice I’d heard from the kitchen was Roy Harper, the original.

I learned that the Roy Harper, or Red Arrow, the Justice League had known was also, what do you know, a clone, and that he’d…impregnated… the Vietnamese villainess Tigress while in a relationship with my mother exactly three years ago. He’d left the League to travel the world with his new wife and search for the original Roy. He’d been halfheartedly pursued for a few years as a criminal guilty of association with a known international terrorist, but he’d succeeded and now Roy the original was back. 

Although not entirely whole.

It seemed that in light of the circumstances, almost everyone was willing to forget or forgive his treachery. ‘Almost’ meaning my mother hated him bitterly and by extension so did Father, and my Uncle Conner on principle. To clone Roy so effectively, with all past memories and personality traits fully intact, and then to place the creation back into the League without anyone knowing the difference required more genetic material than just a few strands of hair. 

It required an entire arm. 

You really missed a lot when you were out of commission for three weeks by order of your mother on account of “behavioral issues.”

So now here we were, clones and all, under the same roof. Like it or not, those three were part of the team and they weren’t going away anytime soon, he told me.  
When Nightwing had finished talking, he ruffled my hair and went off to go re-calibrate the defense system. Or something.

I was left alone to contemplate everything I had learned. 

At least, I thought I was alone.

“So now you know all about my little sob story, huh?” A teenager about my age (though significantly taller, to my chargin.) with vibrant red hair in a buzz cut and friendly blue-green eyes stood at the kitchen’s doorframe. 

“Roy. I am Damian Todd-Wayne, and I can understand entirely what you’re feeling,” I stated firmly. (It is best to speak with authority when introducing one’s self to strangers. They are then more likely to both fear and respect you.)

He uncrossed his arms and swung his legs over the counter to sit on the kitchen’s island across from me. 

“Not trying to be a jerk or anything, but no, you can’t.” I opened my mouth to protest. 

“Hear me out, half-pint, I’m not finished. Big Bad Daddy Bats gave me the whole spiel about how you’re cloned from his second metaphorical son and are currently going through, ‘times of extreme emotional duress and confusion,’ which is a direct quote by the way. Not like you were frozen for seven years and then woke up and figured out you technically fathered a child. So while your sentiment is appreciated, the statement is inaccurate.” 

He made wide and expressive hand motions while he spoke, and the gleaming metal of his prosthetic arm transfixed my eyes. It went to his elbow and fit, (pardon the pun) like a glove. The prosthesis was so realistic that it almost seemed he’d spray-painted his fore arm a shiny silver, with every sinew and muscle mimicked perfectly. 

He caught me staring and met my embarrassed flush with a wide grin.

“Hey, it’s okay. Everybody stares the first time. Here,” He leaned towards me and extended the limb so that I could run my hands over it. 

The metal was so smooth and yet slightly rough that it felt almost exactly like a real arm, with the only differences being the lack of hair and the fact that it was a few degrees cooler than the normal human body temperature. The hand and five fingers were just as perfectly realistic, and he wiggled his fingers to show that he could move them. He pulled his arm back after I indicated I had finished admiring it.

“And,” He said, grin still prominent on his ruggedly handsome face, “I can make it change colors.” 

To prove his statement he turned his arm over and pressed a space just below the hollow of his elbow. It flashed with different shades of red, blue, green, and the other colors of the rainbow. 

“It’s also a machine gun, and a laser. But there’s still a few kinks to work out with the voice activated over-riding, so it’s better for everyone not bullet-proof if I don’t show you. Cool, huh?” He looked at me somewhat expectantly. 

I suddenly got the feeling that this was one of those cultural situations where everything about how my relationship with this individual would be decided by my words at this moment.

“Yes, it’s very… cool. Quite impressive.” His impossibly wide grin got impossibly wider.

“I like you. You talk like you’re a politician and you kind of look like you’re an Asian.” He gave my shoulder a friendly, comrade-like slap. “C’mon man, let’s go play some video games.” 

He pulled me off the counter, and led me towards a game room I was not aware existed. 

 

tbc...

Inside the game room was every toy and electronic gaming device anyone could ask for. As he was hooking up the WII- kinect and finagling the device’s web-cam, he called over his shoulder,  
“Oh, before I forget, I saw you making googly-eyes at Rhea. Heads up, I totally called dibs on her. “ I was confused. 

“…..’Googly eyes’?You… ‘called dibs’ on her?” I tilted my head to the right slightly, as if changing the angle of my neck would help me understand.

“Yeah. Sorry bro. So, you know, if you wanna go crush on somebody, just telling you up front, she’s taken.” I was still a little unclear on what he meant so instead I reverted to the universal speech; body language.

His shoulder blades were slightly raised, neck muscles were tensed, and his ears subtly flickered back, as if he was waiting for my response.  
Ah. I understood now. Roy had laid some sort of male territorial claim on Rhea, with the intent of pursuing her as his mate. And now, as his new ally, he was letting me know that he expected/hoped me to follow this rule he had laid down, but without directly asserting dominance over me, thereby acknowledging that Roy thought of me as an equal. 

Humans really weren’t as different from animals as they thought.

“Oh, alright. That’s fine.” I replied without putting much thought into it. 

He looked over at me and tossed some sort of a controller, which I easily caught.

“Great! So let’s get down to business. We are so going to conquer this level, man.”

And so the afternoon continued. We played something called “Mario Bros” and other various versions of it, while eating god knows how many pounds of junk food.  
We beat the entirety of Halo4 and were just about to start on something known as ‘League of Legends’ when we were unexpectedly interrupted. 

A knock on the door frame announced her arrival.

“Hey, miscreants, it’s time for dinner.” Rhea stood at the door, the tips of her hair wet, as if she’d gotten out of the shower recently. 

Her amber eyes captured my attention once again, but this time I was careful enough not to let Roy notice. I wondered if I should bring up the whole “Roy made me stop looking at you because he wants to be your Alpha male” matter but before I could open my mouth, Roy made his move. 

Literally. 

“Aww beautiful, where’d you get the reservations at? Olive Gardens ? McDonalds? I’m so touched!” Darting behind her with the speed of a love-sick man on a mission, He wrapped his arms around her waist and put his head on her shoulder with a blissful smile.

“Get off of me!” She thrusted her elbows downwards and swiftly pinned him with his arms above his head against the pool table. “Pull another move like that and the only reservation you’ll need is with an undertaker.” Her lips quirked up in a smirk. 

Roy grinned like a shameless schoolboy in reply and broke the hold, stealing a quick peck on her cheek before prancing out of the door and down the hall with the words,

“Can’t blame a guy for trying, sweetheart!” Rhea stared out the door after him, as if she was still processing what had just happened. 

She seemed to consider pursuing him and exacting justice, but decided against it. Rhea glanced over at me absentmindedly, as if she’d just realized I was still there.

She suddenly paused, as if she’d remembered something,

“About the kitchen today, “ I cut her off quickly,

“Oh, no, don’t apologize it’s fine, I was acting impulsively. I should have controlled myself. I have… difficulties, with self control. There’s nothing to apologize for.” I attempted to contort my unfortunately sour face into an apologetic grin.

She seemed grateful that I’d saved her from un-bending her pride.

“Well, you’re not the only one. Trust me.” I was given the honor of a small half smile from her perfect lips as she continued, “Now let’s get to dinner before Harper devours it with that bottom-less pit he calls a stomach.” 

We shared a laugh as we made our way into the kitchen, where the two of us were greeted by a full on food fight raging before us. 

In the middle of it was Roy, the playful trouble maker and no doubt instigator of this impromptu free-for all, and then I suddenly realized something.

Roy was the only person outside of my mother, father, and Uncle Nightwing who had reached out to me and as of right now he was my only real friend. 

If I betrayed him and continued to harbor feelings, at whatever degree of strength, for this girl he had claimed as his, (which I knew was an inevitability. Stubbornness of the heart and such.) then I would lose my only ally who could potentially defend me without taking the risk of being called prejudiced. 

But, I thought quietly to myself. 

It all may very well be worth the cost if I could say that those remarkable smoldering eyes were mine to adore, mine and mine alone. 

Better not to risk it, I decided. It was clear to me that the only safe choice here was to let Roy have his fun with this girl, and find someone else. Right now he’s my only ally, my only friend. Lose him and then once more be alienated without influence. Yes, this was a logical course of action, but was it what I truly wanted?

Of course it wasn't. 

But the world is a cruel place and sometimes even the adoptive sons of multi-billionaires can’t always have what we want.

Roy saw me standing at the edge of the hallway and threw me a pan and a covered bowl of mashed potatoes with the precision of a master archer. I caught one in each hand, and looked back up at him questioningly.

“Connor, Garth, Jaime and Tim are on our side,’’ He yelled. “Smash everyone else!” Roy dodged a head of boiled cabbage and gleefully returned fire with a yam. 

“Attack! Kill! Annihilate! DESTROY!”The redhead banged his hand against the cookie pan he was using as a shield, and the other members of our group gathered about him, falling into a defensive formation we’d been taught in strategy class. As I joined their number, becoming one of the ranks and raising my voice enthusiastically with the rest of them to our fierce battle cry, I felt as if for the first time in a long time, perhaps even forever; that I was included. That I belonged. The feeling made me happy.

And I smiled.  
tbc....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please say the last part was cute bc I thought so


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please let me know what you think at the bottom!! You know, if anyone like actually reads this.

You’d think that I’d have some sort of clinical depression or dark cloud of angst hanging over me all the time, what with the whole “You suddenly have a son whose older than you and because of him you don’t have an arm” business, but I guess I’m still the happy little ray of sunshine I always was.

It’s hard not to be happy when you’re totally living the dream like I am. Unless you were one of those weird melodramatic emo kids who hated life, but you know, I wasn’t, so I’m not. 

Totally makes sense in my head. 

Lots of people probably think I’m just a little bit too far into the deep end, but seven years on ice in a remote Venezulean laboratory will do that to you.

I don’t think I’m crazy. Well… maybe a little. But not like institution crazy, just like- overtly reckless. Or something.  
Just like I know that Rhea doesn’t hate me. Even though she tries to act like I’m dirt beneath her perfect feet, I can tell I’m starting to get to her. 

Like the other day, I found this super gross like why would anyone wear this sheer pink crop top in Older-Younger-Clone-Roy’s closet, (Don’t ask me what I was doing in there.)

So I put it on over a pair of those super tight short shorts “Spank’s”, as I believe those things are called, and Ohmygosh those things are like the best things ever and I don’t know why they weren’t invented sooner. 

I digress. 

Anyways, So I slapped on a leopard print pair of those bad boys underneath the crop top, and I plopped onto Nightwing’s lap (Shirtless, of course.) while he was working on some sort of College application. 

The look on his face was BEYOND priceless and Rhea just doubled over and laughed until she couldn’t breathe.

Definitely the best moment of my life.

It’s been about three months now, and along with having like the literally hottest girl in the Justice league maybe even in the universe totally eating out of my hand, I have a new best friend. 

Damian doesn’t really talk much, and when he does talk, sometimes you have to break out a Dictionary to understand just what the hell the poor growth spurt deprived gremlin is saying, but at least he’s a really good listener, which is good because I talk too much.

It’s a problem. I admit it. 

I’ve noticed he’s kind of down lately, but hey, we all have skeletons in our closets. I, for one, have two closets now and there’s bad stuff in both of them. 

I don’t really want to just set him off and start talking about stuff he’s not ready to talk about. 

Besides. We’re best bros. If he’s got something to say, he’ll say it.  
...

“Roy’s seriously starting to get on my nerves,” I winced as Bart accidentally pulled a strand of hair a little too hard. He gave the space just behind my ear a quick scratch in apology. 

“He thinks that we’re going to ride off into the sunset and have lots of little green eyed ginger babies together.” He chuckled a little. 

“Well, maybe you will. You never know. Besides, you have to admit,” He leaned in closer, “That boy is one hot piece of meat.” He whispered in a sultry tone that sounded so ridiculously seductive we both laughed.

We hadn’t realized that the past was so un-accepting of homosexuals. The history books available to us didn’t really mention anything about it, and so Bart had decided to keep his sexuality a secret from everyone else except for me, until he decided the moment was right.

I thought it was infuriating and unfair, but he didn’t seem to mind.

I blew a strand of hair he’d missed out of my eyes. He quickly caught it, and pouted as he tried to figure out how to put work the strand in to the braided monstrosity he’d concocted on my head.

“ Maybe If you like immature red-heads. I will say he does have a lot going for him, with the whole “Funny happy-go-lucky guy with a secret serious side” thing,” I sighed and winced as he pulled too hard again. “But that’s the catch. It’s a secret. How do I even know it’s there? Maybe he’s actually one hundred percent air-head with no substance. I don’t want to get into a relationship and find out he can’t be serious and make a commitment.” Bart made a sympathetic noise as his suddenly gentle hands stroked the ends of my hair into silky perfection.

Then, he apparently decided to put his two cents in to the matter.

“Oh, he’s serious all right. It’s been almost three months and that boy still hasn’t given up on trying to get in good with you. If anything, he’s trying harder than ever. As for the whole ‘serious side’ thing, if you want my opinion, I don’t think he has one.” I snorted.

“My point exact-“He tugged on my hair a little,

“Quiet sister, I wasn’t finished. It’s not fair to break people up into facets like that. We’re too complicated. But Roy is protective and sweet, which I think can count for serious. Remember last week when Jade and Red-Arrow-Roy brought in their daughter?”  
I guess I saw what Bart meant now. 

Red Arrow had brought his two year old daughter Lian to the Cave one day, along with his wife, Jade. She (The baby, not the wife.) was absolutely adorable, and of course everyone went crazy over her, but no one was as psyched as Roy. 

Everyone was initially a little worried about how this would go down, since, you know, the two Roy’s would be in the same room along with one of their villain wives and child. There was also the tiny detail about how everyone was just turning a blind eye to the fact that his wife was a hardened assassin. 

Roy had played peek-a-boo with the toddler for forty five minutes straight, and then he ran around the Cave giving her a piggy-back ride with the little girl shrieking with laughter and pulling on his ears to make him go faster. 

She called him “Wobo-Man” because of his arm, and the fact that he was completely okay with it, even laughing about the name with everyone else made the situation even cuter. When nap-time finally came, they both passed out on the couch in a slumbering heap of adorable exhaustion. He was on his back, long legs dangling off the edge, with the little girl curled up on his chest like she was the most precious thing in the whole world. 

Needless to say, it was the downright most heart-wrenchingly cute thing I had ever seen.

I’d sat on the arm of the couch and stared until his impossibly green eyes had flickered open. He chuckled lowly at my horrified expression. His deep voice was seriously sexy.

Alright, I liked, and quite possibly loved Roy Harper the original. 

I’d deny it until my dying day. 

But if my brother and I were to succeed with our mission, we could not afford distractions. And Roy was just that. A distraction. A beautiful, funny, kind distraction.

“Done.” Bart announced, tying the end of the braid with an elastic provided for the occasion. His voice snapped me back to reality. 

“Thanks Bart,” I said, admiring the finished product in the mirror. There was a moment of silence. 

He suddenly wrapped his arms around me in a fierce hug and I was reminded that he’d grown several inches taller than me recently. He buried his face in my shoulder ,and I did the same to his chest, breathing in the comfortingly familiar scent of my twin.

“You’re welcome, and you’re not alone. As long as we have each other, neither one of us will ever have to be alone.” I thanked whatever higher power there was that I had Bart, because I never would have had the courage to come back here alone, to do what had to be done if not for the security of knowing he’d be with me. 

Especially with the knowledge that I’d most likely never be able to return. I broke the hug after a few more seconds and did my best to smile at him.

“I know. But thank you for reminding me.”

 

tbc...


	8. Chapter 8

One week later...

Roy dropped his compact bow by his door carelessly and flung his quiver off of his back into. He fell onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling with utterly disbelieving eyes.

“She’s dead. She’s….. She’s dead.”  
He just couldn’t process the sentence. He sighed heavily and rolled over onto his side, and ran a hand through his vibrant red hair. He’d never been the best at dealing with emotions, and it seemed that he was being reminded of that fact yet again.

A tear leaked out of the corner of his sea-green eyes.

Six doors down the hall, Bart paced in front of the bed frantically, muttering to himself and getting louder with each word.

“What do I do? What do I do?” He tugged at his dark brown curls and turned to face the figure sitting on his bed.

“What do we do?” He begged, his voice betraying how desperate their situation had suddenly become. Shining amber eyes met his own identical pair wearily.

“I don’t know.” His sister put her hand over her mouth, which was what she did when she was trying to think through a difficult problem. He continued with his stress –induced nervous ranting. 

“. No Artemis, no undercover mission, no Arrowette, No-“ Rhea cut him off.

“Yes, Bart, I know. Without Artemis Crock, so much will not happen. I know.” She glared at her twin furiously. “I’m trying to figure out what to do now that our first plan has been rendered entirely impossible to carry out. So be quiet.” It was not often that Rhea grew aggravated with her twin, and what had just happened was as close as it ever got to fighting. 

Bart snapped his mouth closed immediately.

Rhea knew that there were only a few options now, all of which would bring death, and pain. But if she chose correctly then there wouldn’t be as much of it than if she had chosen wrong.  
In the version of the future she and her twin brother came from, Artemis Willow Crock was alive. She was alive and she had a daughter, the hero her brother had spoken of, Arrowette.  
In that reality, Artemis had embarked on a top-secret mission to infiltrate The Light’s inner ranks along with Aqualad two years ago as ‘Tigress’ an alias discarded by her older sister and taken up again by Artemis. 

The cover was that she and her boyfriend had gone into retirement, and were no longer working the superhero gig. She did not return to the team as she had twelve hours ago for a reunion mission with her old friends. 

The moment she’d arrived in the cave that morning both Bart and Rhea had grown uneasy.

They knew that the two of them coming back would already change things about the time line, but they were prepared for that. As long as they didn’t initiate events that didn’t relate to the mission nothing major would be different.

Then, two hours ago, when she’d been murdered by Aqualad right in front of their eyes, with Supergirl and Superboy’s enhanced hearing to confirm the absence of a heartbeat, they’d been absolutely terrified. Thankfully everyone was too grief-stricken to notice the two’s extreme reaction to her death. 

They hadn’t said anything about knowing older versions of people in the future, so nobody knew that they were actually very close to Artemis. 

Artemis had been a huge part of the reason that they were here, and to see her die was traumatizing and scary. Did this mean that she was now dead in the future as well? Rhea was pretty sure that this was the case.

Besides, Artemis’s death meant they were doing something wrong. Nightwing had left a few minutes ago to break the news to Artemis’s boyfriend, Wally, who’d also been on the team until he’d retired from active duty.

“Maybe this is how she goes undercover,” Bart’s voice was full of wonder, realization, and hope.”It so makes sense! The Light and the Reach will think she’s dead! So she’ll have the perfect opportunity to infiltrate their ranks, and-“ Yet again, he was cut off by his sister.

“Except Nightwing isn’t that stupid. Eventually the truth would come out, and she’d either get killed by The Light, or the team would be outraged and lose trust in him. He wouldn’t do that. And if he did, then he would have told the team somehow,” She paused and they stared at each other, both of them knowing what was coming next.

“No. Artemis is dead, and that means that we only have one option.” Rhea said slowly.

Bart’s hand suddenly grasped hers and squeezed lightly. 

“Plan B?” He asked, and she just suddenly felt so hopeless and bone tired.

“Yeah, Plan B.” The two simply sat there and stared at nothing, as they both silently contemplated the gravity of what this meant for the future they’d been charged with saving. Rhea stood up  
suddenly.

“I can’t take this.” She said, going for the door.  
“  
Where are you going?” Bart asked. She glanced over her shoulder,

“I’m going to see Roy.”  
tbc.....


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> p>“Why did you come here, Rhea?” She’d been dreading this question. If only it hadn’t come from him. She could lie to Nightwing, or Batman, but she knew she couldn't lie to Roy.

 

One hundred and twelve miles away in Bludhaven, a city just north of Gotham, Nightwing stood in a grungy warehouse just off the wharf gazing at the picture he’d pulled up on his untraceable I-phone.

It was taken by himself on Artemis’s first day of ninth grade at Gotham Academy. She didn’t know his secret identity back then, so the surprised look on her face had been hilarious. 

He sighed. He’d honestly hoped that it never would have come to this. Losing a fellow soldier didn’t get easier, and he remembered how hard it was to cope when Jason had died.

Footsteps announced his arrival. 

Wally, with his cropped orange hair and piercing green eyes stood ready, waiting for Nightwing to speak. 

“Are you ready?” He asked, knowing the answer but still feeling the need to ask the question. A second figure stepped out of the shadows, with a black hood covering their face.

“Yeah, I am.” Artemis replied steadily, pushing the hood back to reveal her shoulder length blonde hair and almond shaped brown eyes. Nightwing nodded. 

“Alright.” He took out a necklace with a small green pendant balancing on it gracefully. 

“This necklace is charmed by Dr.Fate himself to conceal your true appearance and disguise you as your sister, who has been alerted of the situation. Do not lose it.” He instructed her, keeping his voice assertively formal and his movements careful as he secured it around her neck. Artemis’s eyes bore a heavy sense of responsibility and Nightwing felt so damn guilty for to doing this to her.

He’d ripped these two out of their normal, perfect lives to try to serve the better good. 

“It appears that our ruse was successful,” A dark-skinned male said, leaning against a heavy-looking box. 

“It was, Aqualad.” Nightwing said, looking over at his old friend. Artemis’s and Wally’s goodbyes were painful, and they all knew that he would give anything to go with her. But someone had to stay behind to make the lie convincing. Now no one could question the pain in Wally’s eyes when he would tell them about his girlfriend, but nobody could guess the real reason the pain was there.

A high-tech submarine surfaced above the wharf’s gloomy waters, signaling it was time for the two double agents to take their leave. 

As they waved the two a deceivingly cheerful goodbye, Nightwing said to his friend,

“Okay. They’re in. The hard part is over.” The false smile faded from Wally’s face and was replaced by a cold and forboding frown.

"Don’t kid yourself. Face it, Nightwing. Things are only going to get more dangerous from here.”The grimness of his tone chilled Nightwing to his core. 

Because deep down, he knew Wally was right. 

The red-head climbed into a waiting silver car that soon disappeared into the foggy night air, and Nightwing made his way to the nearest boom tube that would take him back to Young Justice.  
....

Rhea stood at Roy's door, trying to decide between knocking or just walking in. She could hear his muffled sobs and gasping breath. Rhea put her hand on the doorknob, twisting it and stepping through. 

The six foot master archer was curled up into fetus position on his bed, trying to cry himself to sleep. He twisted his to look at her, an expression of surprise on his face. He sat up quickly, wiping his nose with his hands.  
"I, um, sorry I didn't get the door, I didn't hear you knock." He said.

"I didn't knock." Rhea replied bluntly. 

"Oh. Okay." Roy swallowed uncomfortably, "I mean, do you want to talk or something?" 

Rhea shifted her weight, looking around her. "Or something." 

Roy widened his eyes and blushed. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, his eyes fixed on the floor.

"Well. I am probably not in the best state right now for that, so although I hate to say no to such a beautiful girl," A panicked noise Rhea had never heard come out of her mouth before cut him off.

"THAT, is not what I meant when I said 'or something'." Roy snorted at her expression. 

"Damn shame." He smirked at her, but she could see the tears welling up once more in his eyes.

"You should be so lucky." She snarked. Her heart wasn't really in it, however. "This is going to sound insensitive, but, if you were iced for seven years, which would be before YJ started, then, how exactly did you meet Artemis?" Roy blinked. 

"Well, I was Speedy for a few years before that. Her father was a villain that Ollie and I would occasionally see on patrols. Sometimes he had a little blond shadow behind him. I never really met her formally, though, that was Red-Arrow-Roy." She gave him a questioning look. "To tell you the truth," He said."I'm not sure if I'm really crying for her or someone else." 

"Can I ask who that someone else might be?" She inquired, observing the way his shoulders began to tremble. 

"My parents." He said quietly. "Since you asked me, I guess I'm allowed to." 

"That's fair," Rhea replied, wondering how much she could actually tell him. "Bart and I's parents in the future, aren't... around. Artemis always was." Roy's eyebrows furrowed. 

"So, in your future, Artemis, didn't die tonight?" He asked. 

"...Yes." 

"Do you think," Roy started, "That you and Bart, coming back, could've changed things?" Rhea felt a rush of fear trill up her spine. Had she said too much? What happens when she says too much? She sat down a few feet away from him, her fists clenched tightly. 

"I think so." Rhea whispered. " I worry about that every second of the day, and now, if it's true, then that means," She choked on her next words."If that's true, then I'm responsible for Artemis's death." 

She heard a whimper, and looked over at Roy, to see that he'd started crying again.

He didn’t ask any more questions, just pulled her in close and continued to cry freely into her shoulder while she was literally shaking with the effort of holding back her grief, until she just gave up and began sobbing just as hard, maybe even harder. 

Finally they’d cried all the tears they could. 

Roy laid back on his bed, and Rhea allowed herself to be once more pulled close to him. She pressed her face into his muscled chest. Every now and then Roy’d chest shook with a dry, heaving sob but they soon passed, leaving them in silence. 

The T- shirt he was wearing was soaked with her tears and maybe some snot. She didn’t know if it was hers or his or maybe both of their snot mixed together, which was a really gross thought when she thought about it, so she stopped thinking about it. 

Roy sighed, and his arms loosened their hold around her shoulders. She lifted her head from his chest, turning to look at his face.  
His eyes stared up at the ceiling. He sighed again, and then his eyelids slid shut. Rhea looked at him for a few seconds more before scooting towards the edge of the bed. Just before her toes touched the floor, Roy spoke.

“Why did you come here, Rhea?” Every muscle in her tensed. She’d been dreading this question. If only it hadn’t come from him. She could lie to Nightwing, or Batman, but she knew she couldn't lie to Roy. 

“I, I just wanted to see if you were okay.” 

“That’s not what I meant, Rhea.” 

“Bart and I used the time machine after we got into an argument with our teacher about the past, but on the way-“

“I know that that isn’t the truth.” He said, his eyes still closed.”And I know that all I ever do is annoy you, but I was hoping you wouldn’t lie to me.” Rhea wanted to cry again. 

“I wouldn’t lie to you if I didn’t have to.” There was movement on the bed behind her, and she felt a hand on her shoulder. Rhea turned her head back towards Roy, only to meet his eyes.

“If you ask me about why we’re here, or how we got here, or how anything important happens in the future, I have to lie to you.” She said. Roy’s green eyes assessed her, with a more serious expression on his face than she’d ever seen him make before.

“You can stay, if you want.” Rhea blinked in surprise at the sudden change of topic. “I don’t mean, like, you can stay and we can bang until dawn, but Bart’s probably asleep, and I have a big bed so we can share, if you want.” His eyes shifted down wards in embarrassment. “Before I got cloned I had a few dogs when I lived with Ollie, and at night they all slept with me. It’s kind of hard now, sleeping without anyone else. I tried to get Wolf to sleep here but he didn’t like that very much.” Roy laughed softly. “I think he thought I was trying to kidnap him or something.” 

They were quiet for a few seconds. 

 

“We have dogs back home. I can tell you little things like that,” She added at Roy’s questioning look.

“What are their names?” He asked.

“The small yellow one is Rocko, the bigger white one is Heiffer. It’s from an old cartoon that me and Bart liked, called,” 

“Rocko’s Modern Life.” He interrupted me, smiling. “I liked that show as a kid too.” Rhea smiled back at him, unclenching her hands from the duvet. 

“I’ll stay with you.” Roy looked at her with an expression of relief. He got up from the bed and walked towards his closet. He opened the sliding door, and pulled his shirt over his shoulders, tossing it into his laundry hamper. 

She got to admire the muscled back of a master archer for a while, staring at the way his shoulder muscles flexed while searching for a new shirt. He might have taken a minute or so longer than he needed to, but eventually he found a replacement and tugged it on, turning to face her again. 

Roy walked to the door, and flicked off the lights. He left the door open, probably as a way to reassure her that no funny business would be taking place. If that’s why he did it, then she appreciated the gesture.

He climbed back into bed on the left side and peeled back his covers. Once he was settled, he sighed again softly. 

“Are you comfortable?” He asked. 

“I’m fine, thanks.” She stretched out her legs, tensing the muscles for a few seconds and then releasing them, feeling twice as relaxed as before. Stuffing an arm under her pillow, Rhea let out her own sigh. 

“Good night, Rhea.” 

“Good night Roy.” 

“Sleep well,” he added quietly. 

Her eyes drifted shut.

 

tbc...


	10. Chapter 10

She woke up in his bed the next morning with the blue covers tucked carefully around her shoulders. 

When she picked herself up and walked into the living room to see if anyone else was awake, she discovered that he was snoring away on the larger couch.   
Nobody had really said anything about her coming out of his room when they all sat down at the kitchen’s table for a rather depressing breakfast, but she noticed Damian stabbing at his eggs and bacon with an unusual violence.

It had been about six days now and apparently Nightwing had decided the team needed to get moving with a mission to take their minds off of it.   
They were all suited up and in the main control room being debriefed on the mission. Rhea couldn’t help sneaking glances at Roy from time to time, as she noticed that throughout the presentation his domino masked eyes were unmistakably fixed on her.

“Lightning will be carrying the decoy, running in an easterly direction, and Impulse will take the real deal North up into Alberta. The rest of the team and I will be in the air at the rendezvous site. When you two have dropped your packages, haul ass as fast as you can to these given coordinates. We will be there to pick you up.” Nightwing paused, looking at Rhea and her brother intently.  
”If you feel like you’re being overwhelmed, radio for help and we will assist you. Your lives are not worth losing.” He finished and gave us all a nod, signaling that it was time to get in the ship.  
They all began piling in single file, but Rhea felt a gentle tug on her arm. 

It was Roy.

“Be careful, okay, Beautiful?” A week ago she would have snarled at the nickname and shook his metal arm off her shoulder, but in light of recent events Rhea just couldn’t bring herself to do it. 

“Okay.” Rhea nodded, leaning into the touch. He seemed surprised by her sudden receptiveness to his affection. Death usually brings people together, she would know. Roy had seen her walls come down that night. That night something had changed, and in every interaction they’d had in the few days since that change was apparent. They knew now that there was more to each other than what met the eye, and now, there was a part of them that was curious to see more. Rhea met his soft green eyes with caution. She didn’t want to fall in love with this idiot and she knew that if he said something adorably stupid and charming like past events predicted he would, there’d be no stopping it. 

Roy opened his mouth to speak.

And then he stumbled forward, the air completely knocked out of him. He caught himself on the side of the ship with a clang of metal against metal. Rhea blinked in surprise, looking around for the culprit and made eye contact with Damian as he climbed into the ship. The blistering hatred in his masked eyes threw her off guard. 

“Any idea what that was about?” She asked. 

“I don’t know,” Roy replied, following her gaze. “He was probably just joking around.” Something in his tone made her think that Roy wasn’t convinced Damian was playing. Rhea wasn’t either. 

“You be careful out there too, airhead.” He smiled at her and moved his flesh hand to tenderly cup her face.

“I will. I think I finally have a reason to.” Her lip trembled. 

“Goddamnit Harper, I hate you so much.” She said breathily, looking up at his gorgeous face and wishing so badly that he would kiss her.

“Sure you do, sweetheart.” He smiled at Rhea, and quickly pecked me on the cheek. It was just a slight pressure. But in the spot where he’d kissed her, she swore there was an electric current.

Roy laughed at her stricken expression and then swung himself into the ship. Shaking her head, Rhea climbed in after him. 

 

tbc...


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit gets real yo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, pls give kudos or comment if you like it, or have suggestions.

As I was running through the bare countryside at as fast a speed as I could maintain for an extended period of time, I couldn’t help but think about Roy again.

It’s not like either of us made any promises, but it felt like it would be wrong to date another guy if they asked me to. Not that anyone would. I might have a pretty face, but I’d made it clear right from the start that I wanted nothing romantic with anyone on the team. Dating opportunities were pretty thin on the ground when you were a teenage superhero and I could tell that maybe a few of them were disappointed, but they all respected it. Except Roy, of course.

I looked down at the GPS on my wrist. I was a mere forty miles away from my destination, and I was traveling at about a hundred and ten miles per hour. 

“How are things going, Lightning?” Nightwing’s voice came from over the wireless like he’d set up in the earpiece built in to my mask. 

“Pretty good. All’s quiet, and so far there’s no sign of-“The force of a huge explosion a few feet to my left deafened me and caused me to stumble, just barely making it out of range.

And that’s when I realized I was now running through a mine field.

....

BOOM. 

Everyone cringed in the ship as the sound was projected from Rhea’s communication link. A few snippets of words came after that, with periodic explosions in the background disrupting her speech.

“Holy Mother of-“Static broke off through the earpiece. “Jesus Christ!” Another explosion. “Nightwing, they knew! They were ready! I can’t-“ 

The line went dead. 

Roy stared at the screen in horror as he grabbed my compact bow and hooked his harness to the zip-line meant for exiting the ship safely from above. Nightwing sprang into action, issuing orders to the others who hooked themselves to the line after him.

“Superboy, Supergirl, and Beastboy, head for Impulse. He might be in danger as well. Falcon, Arsenal, and Robin, help Lightning. I’m programming her coordinates into the bikes below. Go!”

He jumped from the ship and unclipped himself as soon as he hit the ground. There were sleek, rugged looking black motorcycles waiting for them, and they didn’t hesitate to kick them into gear. The bikes took off across the highway and made an exit off the road, before switching into four wheel drive and cutting across an open field with a few trees scattered here and there.   
Robin’s voice came from Roy’s comm.-link

“I’m sweeping for explosives, but the scan’s coming back with nothing. Either they’ve been de-activated, or they’ve already exploded.” He nodded in reply. A few impossibly slow minutes later, the vehicles skidded to a stop.

“We’re here.” Falcon said lowly, casting his grey eyes about nervously.

“Yes, tiny ones. You are here. Unfortunately, so am I.” Lobo the bounty hunter stood behind us, all five thousand pounds of pure nasty alien muscle.His red eyes gleamed maliciously.

“What that little girl is carrying is worth millions on my world. So stand aside, unless you wish for a painful death.” Quickly, Roy drew and notched an explosive arrow. Robin pulled out his electrically charged escrima sticks, and Falcon stood at the ready with four of his equally charged bat-a-rang’s in his hands. 

“Roy, go.” Robin said to me quietly, without taking his eyes of the alien. “She’ll be badly injured. Maybe dead. Be ready.” He flew at the bounty hunter to deal a painful blow to his shin, causing that leg to buckle and just barely getting out of the way to avoid being crushed by its flailing arms. Roy released the arrow Ihed notched, aiming for Lobo’s left foot, away from Robin and Falcon.

As soon as the arrow as loosed he turned and ran in the opposite direction. He knew he wouldn’t miss. 

After the arrow exploded, Falcon gave a piercing battle cry and threw his weapons with deadly aim, and Lobo roared in pain as the batarang’s found their mark. The GPS on Roy’s arm was utterly useless, since they had already arrived at the cooridinate’s it had been given. But Lightning was nowhere in sight. Lobo had spoken as if he intended to find her and kill her, not as if he’d already done so. That gave him cautious hope. He searched the area around him frantically, and was finally rewarded with a clue.

There was a trail of blood leading straight to a large chestnut tree. Oh god, Roy thought, Not dead please not dead let her be anything but dead. He followed it and sure enough, there was Lightning, behind the tree, her left leg bent at an hideously unnatural angle. Her face was chalk pale and her suit was torn badly with several nasty looking gashes scattered across her body. 

She wasn’t breathing. 

“No!” He choked- falling onto his knees and gripping her shoulders desperately. Roy pressed his ear to her chest and listened. After a few seconds of numbing terror, a faint thump-thump thudded and her chest rose for a ragged breath. He released a small sob that had been choking him in his anguish and held her as close to his body as he could.

“Hey Beautiful. You seem to broken your promise.” He said, struggling to plaster his trademark devil-may-care grin onto his face. Her amber eyes fluttered briefly and snapped open, dimly focusing on him.

“Hi, Roy. I can’t see it… is, is it bad?” Her voice was so weak that he had to strain to hear it.

“I’m not gonna lie Beautiful, you look like someone ran you over with a truck.”He moved so that he could support her head. Behind him he could hear the encouraging sounds of a fight.   
From the victory shrieks and increasingly excited exclamations of “Take this, you inter galactic piece of shit!” it sounded like their friends were winning. He looked back down at the girl who was half-in half-out of his arms, as he’d tried to avoid jostling her leg as much as possible. 

“Rhea?” Her eyes had begun to close, and he was worried about what would happen if she fell unconscious in this condition.

“Yes, Roy?” Rhea’s eyes were oddly dis-focused as she flickered them up to meet his.

“I’m gonna take a look at your leg.” She inhaled sharply through her nose, and her fingers dug into his arm like talons. But she nodded, and Roy moved downwards carefully, being sure to keep her neck supported on his shoulder. Roy knew exactly what had to be done. He’d known since the second he’d found her sitting under a tree with her leg twisted like a bendy straw.  
Speedsters like Rhea with accelerated metabolisms heal at an incredibly fast pace, with smaller wounds clearing up almost instantaneously, but larger bones took up to two weeks to knit completely, depending on the severity of the break. 

Often times their smaller bones healed incorrectly and had to be re-broken, but with a break as bad as this it wouldn’t have healed that quickly.   
Roy carefully pressed two fingers on her ribcage. Judging by her reaction, a pained gasp and a small, contained whimper, they were at the very least cracked. Moving his hand and avoiding the exposed pieces of bone, he gently squeezed her calf muscles, and swore. 

Not only was the area of injure way to big for local anesthetic to be effective, but in the approximate hour it had taken them to get here, the tendons in her lower leg that had been torn were already almost healed. Roy turned his head so that he could look her in the eyes again.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I’m going to have to re-tear the ligaments and tendons in your leg so that they can heal properly.” He heard Falcon and Robin approach from behind them.   
They paused as if they were going to say something, but instead Robin spoke into his comm.-link and told Nightwing our approximate position and requested immediate assistance.

Fear was apparent in Rhea’s expression. It was one thing to be injured in the heat of battle with adrenaline coursing through your veins, and another to calmly agree to be subjected to intense pain.

“Either I do it now, Beautiful, or Nightwing does it in an hour and it hurts twice as much.” Rhea kept her glazed eyes fixed on him and slowly nodded her consent.   
Roy shifted her so that she was lying on her side. Suddenly her hand flew to his leg.

“It’s just me, Rhea. This will hurt but I have to do it.” Roy stroked her face with one hand. “Can I help you?” 

She shivered, rubbing her face against his hand. 

“Yes.” She whispered and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. In one quick motion, Roy braced his left hand on her right leg and used the other to bring the leg around and into the correct position, feeling each ligament and muscle re-tearing under hand as he held it firmly in place. 

Rhea screamed. 

 

tbc....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I drew inspiration for that last scene heavily from an Impulse/Nightwing fic that I read a few years ago. I think it's been deleted, because I looked everywhere and couldn't find it. If any of you know it or come across it, if you could let me know that'd be great. As always, thank you thank you for showing my fic love!!! 
> 
> Until next time, 
> 
> Kai


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying really hard to get this finished even though I haven't gotten a lot of attention, so go me I guess.

Pain. Painpainpain everywhere make it stop please please- I’ll do anything it hurts too much too much please

“God, I know, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Rhea-“ 

“We need to get her back to Nightwing, the ship can’t cut through these trees and we have to make it back to the rendezvous site. Get out of the way.” A hand grabbed my shoulder but on the way something banged against my leg, by accident or design I couldn’t tell, but the pain was immediately intensified and another hellish scream tore its way from my throat.

“STOP! YOU’RE HURTING HER-“

“I’m trying to help her you idiot and if you don’t take that filthy hand off me, I swear I will rip it off.” 

“Guys, stop fighting. We need to get to Nightwing,”

I struggled to lift my eyelids and hold them open, but when I did I saw Damian crouched to my left, snarling at Roy like a wolf, his hand on my shoulder and his handsome features twisted into an ugly expression of hate. Roy was across from him on my right. His hand had moved to cradle my head directly after he’d re-torn the muscles in my leg, and Tim stood behind them looking uncertain as what to do.

All this I saw, but none of it was truly processed. The pain consumed me, made me no better than an animal. Blood dripping down from one wound to another- the terrible tingling sensation of exposed bits of bone scraping against each other and the ground and above it all there was the itchy feeling of my smaller cuts being repaired by the overactive metabolism that made me who I am.

“If you don’t let go,” Roy’s voice was dangerous and lower than I’d ever heard it. “I will cause you twice the pain that she’s in.”

“Go ahead. I’d love to see you try.” I just wanted it to stop- can’t they see that?! I thrashed my head to the side in Roy’s hand- startling them both. Trying to escape the pain somehow, I sharply arched my back and whimpered when it did nothing. 

“Roy,” I said through the cage of my bared teeth.“Please. Roy.”My lower lip trembled as I cast my eyes up to his face. Roy's green eyes widened at the earnestness with which I spoke his name, and narrowed in determination. Then there were gentle arms hard with corded muscle sliding underneath my shoulders and around my waist, lifting me, and holding me against his firm chest. 

“Let’s go.” The powerful sound and feeling of his voice reverberated through his chest and to someplace deep within mine. The pain didn’t subside, if anything the careful, but inevitably jostled movements of Roy intensified it. But a certain sense of calm washed over me. I allowed my head to loll back in Roy’s arms and slowly gave in to the lure of unconsciousness, my eyelids drooping as if they weighed as heavy as a hundred bricks. Before I slipped into the void, I heard their cries of fear and attempts to rouse me, but I paid them no mind.

Roy was here. Roy was holding me.

I was safe.

________________________________

 

I’ve been told death is a lot like falling asleep.

Granted, the person who told me’s death was more like a fiery explosion- but that doesn't matter. 

“Nightwing, I think she might be waking up!” Truth be told, I was still relatively unconscious, but the voice brought me back into the realm of the living. Nightwing? No one had called him that in years, not since-and just like that, my senses were on full alert. It was vitally important that I seem to remain unconconsious and thus retain the element of surprise.

I felt thin, yet warm sheets covering the lower part of my body, a firm mattress, and soft pillows that were nestled beneath my head. I took a deep breath in through my nose, processing the scents detected for a moment and then released it as a sigh.  
There was something unnatural about the way this room smelt so clean, but at the same time you could smell other people’s pain, their messes that had been bleached away, and the terse underlying scent of fear.

A hospital, I thought. 

I shouldn’t be in a hospital. If I am injured, Artemis would have just taken me back to the cave so Red Robin could patch me up. The only reason I would be in a hospital is that I have been captured, which means I am now under the Reach’s control.  
Which means I must escape or kill myself trying before they can obtain information from me, if they hadn’t already. A sudden warm pressure came to my right hand, but I maintained control of my facial muscles, refusing to give any sign of life other than a steady pulse.

“Rhea? Rhea, I know that you can hear me so please, just let us know you’re okay.”

The pressure increased for a moment- and I sensed other people surrounding my bed. Listening carefully, I picked out at least four different breathing patterns- a possible five.

“Please wake up Rhea? For me? Please. I, I need you to be okay. I need you. It’s me, Roy.”

Roy?  
“I need you to stay awake. Got that, Beautiful? Don’t. Fall. Asleep.”

Strong arms shifting me closer, the hum and buzz of a gasoline fueled engine beneath me and the whip of road noise. My eyes are pulled open against my will by gentle fingers. 

“Come on, Rhea, you gotta stay awake.” The insistency to the lovely baritone voice encouraged me to at least take a look at who was trying to save my life. What I saw was without any doubt an angel, with sea green eyes and sun bronzed skin and dark red hair that fluttered around his face as he leaned closer to me, until our foreheads touched. 

“That’s it, Beautiful.” The angel smiled down at me, his eyes flickering upwards to check our course. “Almost there.”

As much as I wanted to please the angel with the green eyes by staying awake, it seemed my head injury had other ideas.

Roy Harper. The green eyed airhead who saved my life. 

My lips twitched a little against my will as the onslaught of memories ended  
.  
“Rhea?! Oh my god you’ve been awake this whole time haven’t you?! I knew it!” I opened my eyes, fixing them to the ceiling as I sighed. 

“Is this hell?” There were a few snickers.

“No, this is the hospital wing of the Hall of Justice.” Roy replied,”Why do you ask?”

“Well, the first thing I heard was your annoying voice.” I said, lifting my head up and smirking at him. “It was a logical assumption.” Roy’s green eyes widened before he laughed. The rest of the people in the room chuckled as well. 

“Well for me, this is heaven.” He said, with a coy smile and a mischievous look in his eyes. I smiled.

“And why would that be, Airhead?” He took my hand and pressed it against the side of his face, smiling to himself. 

“Because now you can’t run away from me or my horrible jokes.” That got a real laugh out of everyone. Including me. 

“You’re just lucky I seem to be doped up on pain medication. Any other day, your ass would be mine, Harper.” He smiled again, shaking his head.

“Good to see the concussion didn’t affect your warm and sunny personality, Beautiful.” 

“Never.” I scoffed. Gathered at my bedside was Nightwing, Tim, Damian, and Jaime. Those four were probably closer to me than Batgirl, Wondergirl, or any of the others. Although I preferred to keep my distance so honestly they were probably here more for Roy’s sake than mine.I noticed one face in particular was missing. 

“Where’s Bart? I asked. Roy smiled,

“Don’t worry, He’s fine.” I arched an eyebrow. Twins are highly protective of one another, me and Bart particularly so. I could only think of one reason he wouldn’t be here if he was alive.

“Fine as in at least he’s still alive fine, or fine as in not a hair on his head is harmed fine.”

“Bart is fine as in he hadn’t left the room for more than 30 seconds in the past 48 hours and he was forced out on pain of wifi disconnection in order for him to get some sleep.” I scrutinized him, narrowing my eyes. A few seconds later I nodded. 

“That sounds like him. How long ago did he leave?” I inquired, watching how Roy continued to press my hand to the right side of his face.

“You know, he should actually be getting back ‘round about n-“ 

“OHMYGOD!” A shrieking yellow blur streaked past the window and into the room, knocking Nightwing out of the way. Bart ground to a stop centimeters from my bed, taking my hand in both of his. 

“Oh my god Rhea,RheaRheaRheaohmygodareyouokayyou’reokaythankgodIwasworriedyourleglookedreallybadevenafterRoyfixeditandtheywouldn’tletmecomein-“ Bart’s emerald eyes welled up with tears. “This is even worse than when we were eleven and you tripped and went straight through that rusty Cadillac and got your arm impaled on the knife. Do you remember that?” Bart’s speed talking had clearly left the other people in the room reeling. 

“I remember, Bart.” I replied, absentmindedly rubbing Roy’s cheekbone with my thumb.

“And then Auntie Arrowette had to pull it out and you got blood all over the-“ 

“Where did you sleep?” I said, quickly cutting him off with a pointed look. Roy gave me a knowing glance. 

“Yeah, he’s super sleep deprived and hopped up on energy drinks, so he’s been saying some pretty weird shit.” Roy said, rolling his eyes. Nightwing cleared his throat meaningfully at me from his position by the window. Thanks, Bart, now I have to deal with that later.

“How long do you think you slept?” Bart shrugged.

“Maybe twelve minutes.”Jaimie answered, sounding exasperated. “The rest of it was me pinning him so he couldn’t run back here and bug the doctors again.” 

“Yes, I’m sure that was quite a bothersome task for you.” Tim muttered, rolling his masked eyes. Jaimie flushed. I glanced at Bart inquisitively, only to find him looking guiltier than sin.  
Slowly, I turned my head to lock eyes with Jaimie across the room. He blanched.

“When I can walk again, we’re going to have a long conversation, Jaimie Reyes.” I stared him down, glaring with an intensity I usually reserved only for criminals. Roy laughed,

“I’d get out of here now, if I were you, Blue.” Jaimie stood up quickly and walked out of the room. The others, snickering, took their cue and followed him. Bart sighed. 

“Would you care to explain yourself?” I said to him. 

“I was talking to him, and it turns out not everyone in the past is against homosexuality,” he looked up at me through his thick lashes.”And Jaimie’s really sweet and I really like him and I think he likes me too.” Bart blinked at me. He was using the pouty, innocent face he always used when he wanted things. I tipped my head back, closing my eyes. 

“Okay, we’ll talk about this later.”Breathing out through my nose, I leaned forward again, making eye contact with Roy.”I think that right now I need to just…” My sentence hung unfinished. I still didn’t know exactly what I needed. But Roy had it, that I was sure of. 

Bart nodded. He squeezed my hand one more time before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.

 

tbc.........


End file.
